Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest vertically integrated meat producer, has announced that it has acquired 75% of St Petersburg-based Samson – Food Products (SFP).
The deal has been approved by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and is estimated to be valued at RUB 350 million (€4.4 million), with an additional debt of around RUB 550 million (€6.9 million).
The final price of the deal will be based on SFP’s performance in 2019.
Well-Aligned Deal
Cherkizovo's CEO, Sergey Mikhailov, said that the acquisition was very well aligned with the group’s development strategy.
“Samson has been a very strong brand, historically, and we consider giving it a new life in the sausage segment,” Mikhailov added.
SFP – the maker of meat brands like Samson, Grillmania and Fileya – will retain control over its day-to-day operations with the same management team.
Mutual Benefit
Apart from gaining access to the raw materials and professional expertise of the Cherkizovo Group, this partnership will also enable SFP to penetrate new markets outside St Petersburg and the North-Western Federal District (NWFD), which currently make up 90% of its sales.
This deal will strengthen Cherkizovo’s position in St Petersburg and NWFD, the latter being a region on which the group has closely focused since 2017.
Cherkizovo's Petelinka brand currently accounts for 29% of branded poultry sales in the largest retail chains across the NWFD, the company reported.
Its Pava-Pava brand has captured 53% of the turkey market, while Cherkizovo’s pork sales account for 8% of the branded segment.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.